So I read this past month through the Scriptures on the topic of faith. I have already written about a few important truths, when it comes to faith, last week. Today I finished reading on the topic of faith from James chapter 2. This reading followed on the heels of reading Hebrews chapter 11 yesterday. James chapter 2 has that famous and yet misunderstood line, "faith without works is dead". And Hebrews 11 shows this line in example form. So lets think about this line for a few moments today.
That line throughout the history of the church has produced some very bad theology. The biggest and worst theology and wrong truth that comes from, "faith without works is dead", is a works salvation. Works salvation says that a person needs to do good, work real hard for God, and serve both God and human kind, and by working and doing a lot of good in the world, a person will earn their salvation and entrance in heaven. This thought flies directly in the face of my post last week, where Paul in Galatians says that salvation is by faith alone. That is the truth of our salvation. Salvation is given to us becasue of our faith, which in turn is an act of God's grace. Paul makes it very clear in all of his writing that salvation is a free gift of God's grace and can never be earned or deserved. So how do we understand then that faith without works is dead and how is works then connected to salvation. Let me explore that for a few moments.
Our faith is what allows God to save us, period. God sees the faith and belief we have in Him, then He justifies us, calls us righteous, and seals us for the day of the Lord and eternity with Him. So our faith is what gives God the ability to reach down and save us. But we also need to realize that before God, we do not have faith. Simply put, our faith is given to us by God also. God reaches down into our lives, into our dead (spiritually speaking) corpses, and changes us from dead to alive. God making us alive is seen the clearest in Ephesians 2, but can also be found throughout the book of Romans. Once God revives us or makes us alive, we then have the ability to have faith. Before God makes us alive, we are dead. And what can a dead corpse do, nothing. As dead beings before God we can do nothing in ourselves and are simply waiting our time out for our destruction because of our sin nature. But God in His great mercy comes upon us and makes the dead alive and when they come alive they have the ability to have faith. At this point when we become alive , by God's hand, we now will have faith in God and are able to trust Him and desire Him alone, which then in turn lets God save us and justify us.
So what does God making us alive have to do with works? And how does God making us alive help James chapter 2 and a faith without works is dead? Simply put, when God makes us alive, we now have the faith in us that allows God to save, but we also have the ability in us to delight in God, desire God, obey God, and live a life that please God. A life that does all this, and only for the glory of God, is a life that has good works. A life of works before God's regenerating act, that was full of "good works", was not really good works and was still a life that was dead in sin and destined for destruction. But now since God regenerated the person and they have faith, they now can please God and glorify Him in all that they do. So a life of faith and a life of pleasing God go hand in hand. If we would not have the faith part, then all the good works would not matter and are really being done for selfish reasons. But if we would lack the good works and please God attitude, then the faith part would come into serious question. This is what leads James into saying, "a faith without works is dead". Unless we can see the visible life giving regenerate act of God in the person by them pleasing God in all of life, their claim to having faith is untrue. The faith that allows God to save is so connected to a new heart that it must produce a life that pleases and desires God alone, which is good works.
This is why James is not teaching a works salvation and why James can use the word dead. Salvation is all about God. Salvation is all done by God. We are simply the beings that benefit and are saved by all that God does. God regenerates us. This then is God giving us the gift of faith in Him. This then allows God to justify and save us. We with this new heart, can do the good works that please God and show the work that God has done in our hearts. And all this good work and pleasing God, glorifies God and honors Him, which is why He saves us to begin with. God, who is rich in mercy, does all the saving so that at the end of the day He gets all the glory. And all we can do is stand in awe, gratitude, and a life pleasing Him.
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Prayer
I have been praying a lot about prayer and the fact when we do pray we are tapping into the great power that exist, God. It is kind of funny to say I have been praying about prayer. But it goes to show the reality that prayer must have in the life of a Christian. A great preacher once stated, "We can do more than pray, after we have prayed, but not until". What does that say about the importance of prayer and why I would pray for prayer?
That says that we must pray first. How can we do something or say something without having first tapped into God? Why do we try and live our lives without first going to God on our knees? Prayer is where life must begin and be at continually. When life gets hard, go to prayer and ask God for strength. When life is easy, pray and praise God for the blessing. When life is frustrating, go to God and ask for patience. When life is challenging, go to God and ask for peace. When someone hurts us, go to prayer and ask for love. When the day is young, go to prayer and ask for guidance. When the day is done, pray and be thankful we made it through. When our body hurts, go to prayer and ask for healing. When someone we love hurts, pray and ask for their comfort. When someone's soul is on the brink of hell, pray and ask for courage. Pray is the power cord into the outlet of Jesus. Pray first, pray last, pray continually, pray boldly, pray fearlessly, pray pray pray. We cannot do anything without pray. Now lets pray!
That says that we must pray first. How can we do something or say something without having first tapped into God? Why do we try and live our lives without first going to God on our knees? Prayer is where life must begin and be at continually. When life gets hard, go to prayer and ask God for strength. When life is easy, pray and praise God for the blessing. When life is frustrating, go to God and ask for patience. When life is challenging, go to God and ask for peace. When someone hurts us, go to prayer and ask for love. When the day is young, go to prayer and ask for guidance. When the day is done, pray and be thankful we made it through. When our body hurts, go to prayer and ask for healing. When someone we love hurts, pray and ask for their comfort. When someone's soul is on the brink of hell, pray and ask for courage. Pray is the power cord into the outlet of Jesus. Pray first, pray last, pray continually, pray boldly, pray fearlessly, pray pray pray. We cannot do anything without pray. Now lets pray!
Thursday, May 5, 2016
Corporate Worship pt. 4
So far this week, I have tried to show attitudes and actions we can take leading up to, on the morning of, and even during, the corporate worship service, to give it the place and seriousness it deserves. But there is also even things we can do after the service to keep it in the place it deserves from our lives. Remember, it we truly claim to love Jesus, we must also desire to worship Him with His body, keeping this activity as the centerpiece of all else we do. Putting other activities or people above the worship service is to tell the watching world or even those people that there are things more important to us than Jesus Himself.
Keeping the worship service as center and serious even after it is over, requires us to do reflection and response in our lives from all that has just happened. We must reflect and respond right after the service has ended and also throughout the rest of the day and ensuing week. Here is a list of things we can do to reflect and respond to the corporate worship service. These activities we can do to keep the seriousness of the service alive beyond the 90 minutes of it.
-Walking around and talking to the rest of Jesus body around us, with what they found meaningful and challenging from the service or teaching time.
-Asking our spouses on the drive or walk home to explain what they heard in the service.
-Asking others what convicted them during the service.
-Even talking with others not in the service, about ways that we were delighted in God again becasue of the worship we were just a part of.
-Spending the Sunday afternoon rereading the passage that was taught.
-Spending time in prayer letting the Holy Spirit saturate our soul with what took place in the service.
-Giving the Word and the Spirit time to convict us of sin, teach us deeper truths, uncover our weaknesses, increase our faith, and bind our wounds.
-Ending the day thanking God for all that took place during the most important day of the week and thank Him for what will take place in the week to come, in preparation for next Sunday.
Sunday is the most important day of the week. The importance of Sunday does not end when the service ends, but continues on throughout the day and in the rest of the week. Because of Sunday we have the knowledge and power to get up on Monday and live the rest of the week to the glory of God, knowing that the next Sunday is not to far away. God gave us the 7th day, the day of rest, the most important day of the week, as a gift to us, so that we would have a day set for only Him in every aspect, action, and attitude.
The question I want to end this serious of post with is this; Do you value Sunday as much as God does?
Keeping the worship service as center and serious even after it is over, requires us to do reflection and response in our lives from all that has just happened. We must reflect and respond right after the service has ended and also throughout the rest of the day and ensuing week. Here is a list of things we can do to reflect and respond to the corporate worship service. These activities we can do to keep the seriousness of the service alive beyond the 90 minutes of it.
-Walking around and talking to the rest of Jesus body around us, with what they found meaningful and challenging from the service or teaching time.
-Asking our spouses on the drive or walk home to explain what they heard in the service.
-Asking others what convicted them during the service.
-Even talking with others not in the service, about ways that we were delighted in God again becasue of the worship we were just a part of.
-Spending the Sunday afternoon rereading the passage that was taught.
-Spending time in prayer letting the Holy Spirit saturate our soul with what took place in the service.
-Giving the Word and the Spirit time to convict us of sin, teach us deeper truths, uncover our weaknesses, increase our faith, and bind our wounds.
-Ending the day thanking God for all that took place during the most important day of the week and thank Him for what will take place in the week to come, in preparation for next Sunday.
Sunday is the most important day of the week. The importance of Sunday does not end when the service ends, but continues on throughout the day and in the rest of the week. Because of Sunday we have the knowledge and power to get up on Monday and live the rest of the week to the glory of God, knowing that the next Sunday is not to far away. God gave us the 7th day, the day of rest, the most important day of the week, as a gift to us, so that we would have a day set for only Him in every aspect, action, and attitude.
The question I want to end this serious of post with is this; Do you value Sunday as much as God does?
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Corporate Worship pt. 3
So the last 2 days, I have written about the ways we can prepare ourselves for the #1 activity we have the privilege of being a part of every week, the gathering of the body of Christ for corporate worship. But being serious about the Sunday events is not just about getting prepared but also taking the very event itself serious. So today I want to think through a little what we can do while we worship God corporately as a body and the actions we can take during the church service to make them that much more serious to us.
Simply put to take worship and church serious we must tend our hearts during the events themselves. First, as our mind drifts during the service (which happens to the best of us), we need to remind ourselves of the great privilege that corporate worship and gathering with the body is. We are meeting with the triune God of the universe and our very own soul, and we must never lose sight of that while we are in church. God is speaking to us through His very Word, both in song and in teaching, and Jesus is extending His grace to us through these wonderful events and opportunities to gather and worship Him. Nothing in all the world is more significant, momentous, and remarkable than to meet God with the rest of His people and hear from His very voice through His very Word imparted to us through His very Spirit.
Which brings us to the second way we can take corporate worship serious, in tending our hearts, while the events are happening to us, around us, and through us. We must be full engaged in the corporate worship service. We must sing along with the songs becasue that is one way God speaks to us through His Word. All of the good and glorifying worship songs are about God, to God, and praise His name for His glorious nature. And most of these songs are the Bible in poem form that tell the theological truths of the Word in song. We must sing these words one to another in all their beauty. Being fully engaged in the worship service also includes our very own set of Scriptures. We must have our own Bible's open, following along with the teaching time, and even taking notes and writing down things we are learning and that the Spirit is impressing upon us. Being interactive with the written Word, as the spoken word of the Pastor goes forth is key to taking the worship service serious. And lastly the clearest way we can engage in the corporate worship service is giving back a portion of the gift that God has given us through offerings. We must visibly show the rest of the church body we take God seriously, others seriously, and the spread of the Gospel seriously by surrender a portion of God's stuff back to the work of God's people.
Being prepared ahead of time is not the only way we show we are serious about corporate worship. Being serious during the worship service itself is a huge component to showing the world and more importantly God, that we are serious about His gathered body worshiping Him. So what do you do during the church service to show others your priority of this very event in life?
Simply put to take worship and church serious we must tend our hearts during the events themselves. First, as our mind drifts during the service (which happens to the best of us), we need to remind ourselves of the great privilege that corporate worship and gathering with the body is. We are meeting with the triune God of the universe and our very own soul, and we must never lose sight of that while we are in church. God is speaking to us through His very Word, both in song and in teaching, and Jesus is extending His grace to us through these wonderful events and opportunities to gather and worship Him. Nothing in all the world is more significant, momentous, and remarkable than to meet God with the rest of His people and hear from His very voice through His very Word imparted to us through His very Spirit.
Which brings us to the second way we can take corporate worship serious, in tending our hearts, while the events are happening to us, around us, and through us. We must be full engaged in the corporate worship service. We must sing along with the songs becasue that is one way God speaks to us through His Word. All of the good and glorifying worship songs are about God, to God, and praise His name for His glorious nature. And most of these songs are the Bible in poem form that tell the theological truths of the Word in song. We must sing these words one to another in all their beauty. Being fully engaged in the worship service also includes our very own set of Scriptures. We must have our own Bible's open, following along with the teaching time, and even taking notes and writing down things we are learning and that the Spirit is impressing upon us. Being interactive with the written Word, as the spoken word of the Pastor goes forth is key to taking the worship service serious. And lastly the clearest way we can engage in the corporate worship service is giving back a portion of the gift that God has given us through offerings. We must visibly show the rest of the church body we take God seriously, others seriously, and the spread of the Gospel seriously by surrender a portion of God's stuff back to the work of God's people.
Being prepared ahead of time is not the only way we show we are serious about corporate worship. Being serious during the worship service itself is a huge component to showing the world and more importantly God, that we are serious about His gathered body worshiping Him. So what do you do during the church service to show others your priority of this very event in life?
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
Corporate Worship pt. 2
This is post 2, in a 4 part series, on the seriousness we have in worship and specifically if we are serious about corporate worship, what can we do to take it serious. Like I said yesterday, we are going off the premise that like me, the corporate worship service is one of the most important things in your life as a Christian. Today I want to continue the idea of preparing for Sunday, but not in the way we did yesterday. Yesterday we considered how we set the rest of the week up for Sunday. Today I want to consider how we get prepared each Sunday for what is about to happen in the day ahead of us.
If we are truly serious about the Sunday gathered worship, we must be prepared for the day ahead and get ourselves ready spiritually, emotionally, and even physically for the day. Going to bed early and getting enough sleep is the first thing we must do to prepare for the glorious activities that Sunday will hold. I know that there are those who work or have requirements that effect sleep Saturday. But the rest of us have no excuse and should all be getting our bodies rest and giving it the energy it needs to enjoy and have strength for the worship that is to follow.
Another way to prepare for Sunday on Sunday is preparing our hearts before we even enter the church doors. We need to take the time and effort to do so becasue our soul will be the beneficiary. We need to rise early and spend time reading the Word, praying, and worshiping God privately on a Sunday morning before we get together with the rest of the body. We need to cultivate a spirit of joy on Sunday mornings in our homes. If this is the highlight of our week, then we need to act like it in private as well as public. And this also means our times with our families before we even get to church. Do we talk about the wonderful opportunity ahead with our spouses and children? Do we wake up with excitement and give that same excitement to others in our family? Listening to good worshipful music at home as we eat breakfast or in the car on the way to church is key in getting our soul ready to respond in worship ourselves.
Another way to prepare ahead of time for Sunday worship on Sunday, is making sure we have enough time in getting to church. We can arrive at church early and deal with what needs to be dealt with before any worship or study starts. We can get to church early and read the bulletin thinking through the songs and those me might be able to encourage and pray for. We can get to church early enough so that we might be able to pray in church for those who might also come to church and for those who are on their way to church. Setting our Sunday up for success by being on time and even early is key to being prepared and ready to worship God with our faith family.
Being prepared for Sunday and getting our souls ready for worship on Sunday is key. You know the days that Sunday seems to be more of a struggle because of bad attitudes, tardiness, and sin. Getting prepared before the day begins and then getting prepared as the day unfolds is key to making the corporate worship serious for our life and keeping it as the center of our week and relationship with God. How do you prepare yourself each Sunday for what is about to happen with God that day?
If we are truly serious about the Sunday gathered worship, we must be prepared for the day ahead and get ourselves ready spiritually, emotionally, and even physically for the day. Going to bed early and getting enough sleep is the first thing we must do to prepare for the glorious activities that Sunday will hold. I know that there are those who work or have requirements that effect sleep Saturday. But the rest of us have no excuse and should all be getting our bodies rest and giving it the energy it needs to enjoy and have strength for the worship that is to follow.
Another way to prepare for Sunday on Sunday is preparing our hearts before we even enter the church doors. We need to take the time and effort to do so becasue our soul will be the beneficiary. We need to rise early and spend time reading the Word, praying, and worshiping God privately on a Sunday morning before we get together with the rest of the body. We need to cultivate a spirit of joy on Sunday mornings in our homes. If this is the highlight of our week, then we need to act like it in private as well as public. And this also means our times with our families before we even get to church. Do we talk about the wonderful opportunity ahead with our spouses and children? Do we wake up with excitement and give that same excitement to others in our family? Listening to good worshipful music at home as we eat breakfast or in the car on the way to church is key in getting our soul ready to respond in worship ourselves.
Another way to prepare ahead of time for Sunday worship on Sunday, is making sure we have enough time in getting to church. We can arrive at church early and deal with what needs to be dealt with before any worship or study starts. We can get to church early and read the bulletin thinking through the songs and those me might be able to encourage and pray for. We can get to church early enough so that we might be able to pray in church for those who might also come to church and for those who are on their way to church. Setting our Sunday up for success by being on time and even early is key to being prepared and ready to worship God with our faith family.
Being prepared for Sunday and getting our souls ready for worship on Sunday is key. You know the days that Sunday seems to be more of a struggle because of bad attitudes, tardiness, and sin. Getting prepared before the day begins and then getting prepared as the day unfolds is key to making the corporate worship serious for our life and keeping it as the center of our week and relationship with God. How do you prepare yourself each Sunday for what is about to happen with God that day?
Monday, May 2, 2016
Corporate worship pt. 1
This week I want to write a series of 4 posts about the seriousness of the Sunday Worship gatherings. I am going off the premise that everyone reading this is like me and understand the importance and place that Sunday and specifically the worship service has, in the life of everyone who calls Jesus, Lord of their lives. If Jesus is our King, His Word, His people, and His day are the most important things to us and our life in every other aspect revolves around the Word, His people, and Sunday. So if we understand the seriousness of Sunday and worship, the next question is, what do we do about the seriousness of Sunday Worship? That is the point and question behind this weeks posts.
So if Sunday is the most important day of the week and the worship service is one of, if the most, important event in our week, what can we do about this reality?
The first thing we can do is start early. If Sunday is the most important day in our week the place to begin is setting up the rest of our week to revolve around Sunday. The seriousness with which we come to corporate worship must begin far before we enter the doors of our church on Sunday mornings. We need to seize the rest of the week in anticipation of what Sunday has in story and what Sunday can bring us. We need to make Sunday so important we get ready throughout the week for it by worshiping with our family and spouses in anticipation for Sunday. We need to plan our Saturday events so that Sunday will not be a problem. We need to make clear with others that Sunday is our number 1 thing and that we would be glad to spend time with them as long as Sunday is not effected. Yes, this world does not regard Sunday's anymore with the reverence and the place it deserves. But starting early on our Sunday prep means that we place God and His corporate worship time above even what the world has set down. And when we leave the worship service and gathering on Sunday, we need to already be preparing for the very next week. Are we in the Word search out the passage for next Sunday's service? Are we talking with others about what is to come next Sunday? Does the rest of our family know by our lives that Sunday is more important than all else? And do we invite others to come with us to worship God and meet Him for the very first time?
The Lord of glory is speaking to us and the grace of Christ is being extended to us. And both of these happen every Sunday if we are serious and prepared for it. Do you start early each week getting ready for the coming Sunday?
So if Sunday is the most important day of the week and the worship service is one of, if the most, important event in our week, what can we do about this reality?
The first thing we can do is start early. If Sunday is the most important day in our week the place to begin is setting up the rest of our week to revolve around Sunday. The seriousness with which we come to corporate worship must begin far before we enter the doors of our church on Sunday mornings. We need to seize the rest of the week in anticipation of what Sunday has in story and what Sunday can bring us. We need to make Sunday so important we get ready throughout the week for it by worshiping with our family and spouses in anticipation for Sunday. We need to plan our Saturday events so that Sunday will not be a problem. We need to make clear with others that Sunday is our number 1 thing and that we would be glad to spend time with them as long as Sunday is not effected. Yes, this world does not regard Sunday's anymore with the reverence and the place it deserves. But starting early on our Sunday prep means that we place God and His corporate worship time above even what the world has set down. And when we leave the worship service and gathering on Sunday, we need to already be preparing for the very next week. Are we in the Word search out the passage for next Sunday's service? Are we talking with others about what is to come next Sunday? Does the rest of our family know by our lives that Sunday is more important than all else? And do we invite others to come with us to worship God and meet Him for the very first time?
The Lord of glory is speaking to us and the grace of Christ is being extended to us. And both of these happen every Sunday if we are serious and prepared for it. Do you start early each week getting ready for the coming Sunday?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)